There are several reasons why an Italian consulate could reject a citizenship application. One of the main reasons we see here at Italian Citizenship Assistance is due to the “minor age issue,” which has affected many applications in recent years. There are other reasons too, regarding document discrepancies, questions as to the identity of the ancestor, and missing documents. In this article, we will discuss the problems that can prevent an application from being accepted, along with how to successfully appeal the decision to the Italian courts.
The “minor issue” in citizenship application rejections
As mentioned, one of the main reasons a citizenship jure sanguinis application is rejected is due to the “minor issue.” When dealing with the question of minor children in the direct Italian line, there are two instances to consider. The first are cases in which the minor child was born in Italy but moved to the foreign country along with their Italian-born parent(s). In these circumstances, when the Italian parent naturalized, the Italian-born minor also lost Italian citizenship. Keep in mind that the age of majority was twenty-one in many countries, including Italy, up until the early 1970s (March 9, 1975 for Italy). Also, Italy did not allow dual citizenship until 1992, hence the automatic loss of citizenship when a foreign one was acquired.
Then there are cases in which the minor child in question was foreign-born. These have become more complicated in recent years. For many years, it was accepted that the foreign-born minor did not lose Italian citizenship when the Italian parent naturalized. (So long as the naturalization occurred after June 14, 1912). The majority of Italian consulates and courts agreed that the foreign-born minor was entitled to both Italian citizenship by descent, as well as the citizenship of their birth country (laws permitting), and so did not de facto lose Italian citizenship upon the parent naturalizing. However, recently, some consulates have questioned this, even rejecting applications on the basis of this “minor issue.”
On October 3, 2024, the Italian Ministry of the Interior issued a circolare guiding how minor issue cases should be interpreted by Italian municipalities and consulates. The memo advises that in such cases, the foreign-born minor lost Italian citizenship when the Italian parent did. This means the applicant would then be ineligible for Italian citizenship, since the chain of descent was broken. Only Italian consulates and municipalities are bound by this circolare, whereas courts are not subject to guidelines issued by the Ministry offices.
Other reasons an application might be rejected
Along with the minor issue described above, document discrepancies are another reason a citizenship application might be rejected. The most common of these is misspellings of first and/or last names, particularly with the Italian ancestor. It was fairly usual for the ancestor’s name to be spelled incorrectly upon registering their presence at Ellis Island or other ports of arrival, along with altering their last name (or even first name) to sound more “American.” When such discrepancies appear in vital records, it is important to have them amended so all documents presented to the consulate correctly display the first and last name. Other discrepancies could include dates of birth, death, and marriage. The process to amend these depends on the state and office that issued them. Sometimes it is very simple, while other cases might require a court order.
Another reason an application might be rejected could be due to doubts as to the identity of the ancestor. These are usually cases involving a great- or even great-great-grandparent that might have sparse documentation regarding their origins and/or immigration status.
In most cases, when the identity of the Italian ancestor is unclear, consulates require that the applicant provides additional documents to confirm the identity of the ancestor. However, when such documents are not deemed satisfactory the application is rejected.
Missing documents could lead to a rejection as well. To take an example from the problem of the ancestor’s identity, there are some cases in which a birth certificate could be difficult to track down due to the age of it and poor documentation practices from the period. Sometimes, in such cases, a baptismal record will serve to replace it. But, as we will discuss below, Italian courts are usually more forgiving than Italian consulates.
Can you appeal?
The good news is, if you have had a citizenship application rejected by a consulate, you can appeal the decision at the Italian court level. You do not need to be present in Italy to do this, as you can appoint someone power of attorney to act in your stead, such as the lawyers at Italian Citizenship Assistance.
One option is to present your rejection to the Italian administrative (T.A.R.) court within 60 days of its issuance. If the appeal is successful the administrative court could then force the consulate to accept the application. Otherwise, the applicant can petition the Italian civil court, with no deadline, and the civil court could rule that the applicant is an Italian citizen, trumping the rejection of the consulate.
The Italian courts, in general, can be far more flexible than the consulates, to the point of accepting the lack of a record. In fact, there has even been a Supreme Court decision indicating that the birth of an ancestor can be proven through other documentation, such as the baptismal record example above.
Conclusion
If you are interested in applying for Italian citizenship or need assistance with a rejected application, our team of experts would be more than happy to have a consultation with you. Contact us today at [email protected].
